Radiator cleaning apparatus



April 8, 1952 c. B. SHANAMAN 77 RADIATOR CLEANING APPARATUS Filed July 24, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 April 8, 1952 c. B. SHANAMAN RADIATOR CLEANING APPARATUS 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed July 24, 1946 Patented Apr. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to devices for cleaning the interior of radiators, particularly radiators for autmobiles.

It is an object of the invention to provide for effecting a circulation of a cleaning liquid through the radiator in a simple and improved manner without the use of a power driven pump or other power actuated means.

The apparatus includes a tank for containing a cleaning liquid, and a rack or holder for the radiator, the rack or holder being constructed so that the radiator may be conveniently assembled therewith, after which the rack with the radiator therein may be conveniently introduced into and removed from the tank.

Provision is made for heating the cleaning liquid in the tank, and in this connection it is an important object of the invention to utilize the rack. or holder for circulating the heated cleaning liquid through the radiator.

It is also. an object of the invention to provide for supporting the rack in an elevated position inclined to the vertical and on the top. portion of the tank, so as to provide for draining the cleaning liquid from the radiator back into the tank for repeated use when the rack is sov supported on the top oi the tank.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it of course being understood that changes in the form, proportion. size and minor details may be made, within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

In the drawings.-

Figure l is a rear elevation of an embodie ment of the present invention wherein the larger portion or the back of the tank is removed to show the combined fountain and radiator rack in elevation, a portion of the back of the rack being brolen away to show an interior portion or the rec Figure 2 is a top view of Figure 1, the cover of the tank being removed.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the combined radiator rack and fountain.

Figure 4 is a side view of the device, on a smaller scale, a side wall of the tank being removed and showing the radiator rack in position.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the radiator rack support in a tilted position for draining cleaning fluid into the tank.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the manner of supporting the lower end of the radiator rack for drainage purposes.

In the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the accompanying drawings, I designates a tank of general rectangular form provided with, a horizontal partition 2 near the bottom of the tank so as to define a combustion chamber between the bottom of the tank and the partition 2. The top of the tank is, open and provided with any suitable removable cover 3. It is intended to use a cleansing fluid of any suitable or preferred composition in the tank I. As indicated in the plan view, Fig. 2, the cross sectional shape of the tank is rectangular and, as shown in Fig. l, a vertical partition 4 is provided near one of the upright side walls of the tank so as to provide an upright combustion flue 5 communicating at its bottom with the combustion chamber 6 through. an opening 1 formed in the partition 2. A plurality of horizontal baiiles 8 are provided within the flue 5 and on the side wall of the tank and having their free edges adjacent the partition or wall 4 so as to direct the heated products of combustion towards the wall 4 to insure a proper and effective heating of said wall and the liquid contents of the tank. Discharge openings 9 are provided in the back wall offthe' tank and communicating with the flue 5 near the top thereof for the discharge of products of combustion. A suitable gas burner I0 is provided within the combustion chamber 6 for providing the heat necessary for the operation of the present invention.

In Figure 3 of the drawing there has been shown a rack or holder for the support of an automobile radiator during the cleaning operation. This rack or holder is constructed so as to enable the convenient placing of the radiator within the rack and for holding it therein particularly during the introduction and removal of the rack from the tank. As shown, the rack or holder comprises upright parallel side walls ll connected at their tops by a top plate iii. A suitable back plate 13 covers the space bounded by the parts H and i2. Base members I5 proiect forwardly from the lower ends of the side members I! and are connected across their front ends by a front wall it. Within the space defined by the back wall l3. the base members 15 and the front wall It there is a centrally dis posed horizontal plate I], from the opposite edges of which, plates l8 incline downwardly to the respective base members l5 and contact the same slightly above the bottom edges of the parts l5. An open-ended tube I9 is carried by the part l1, and the open lower end of the tube extends through the part H. A plurality of vertical ribs 20 extend from top to bottom of the front face of the back wall l3. A bail handle 2| straddles the top of the rack or holder with its ends loosely or pivotally connected to the side walls H.

In using the device as thus far described, a suitable amount of cleaning fluid is introduced into the tank through the open top thereof. An automobile radiator shown conventionally at 22, is introduced into the rack downwardly through the open front thereof, and between the pipe l9 and the back plate I3, the ribs 20 constituting a guide during the placing of the radiator within the rack. Suitable supporting means 23, such as brackets are provided upon the front face of the back of the rack and on which the radiator is supported. The radiator is turned upside down prior to introduction into the rack so that the filling spout 24 of the radiator will be at the bottom and the hose connection elbow 25 will be at the top. The filling spout 24 is maintained open so that cleaning fluid may drain from the radiator back into the tank. Any suitable clamping means may be employed to hold the radiator against the front face of the back of the holder, such for instance as a pair of links 26 loosely connected to the front wall of the back of the holder, and shaped to extend around the edges of the radiator to the front thereof, such links being connected together as by means of a spring 21. One of the links 26 will have any suitable loose connection with the holder while the other one will have a detachable connection such as a hook and eye connection 28 with the holder for convenience in applying and removing the clamp. After the radiator has thus been positioned upon the rack or holder a flexible pipe or hose section 29 is fitted to the open top of the pipe l9 and the open bottom of the hose connection 25 of the radiator.

With the radiator associated with the rack or holder in the manner described, the bail handle 2| may be employed to lift the holder and the radiator and place it downwardly into the tank I through the open top thereof until the bottom of the rack engages and rests upon the horizontal wall or partition 2 of the tank, the cover of the tank put in place, and the burner l lighted, whereupon the liquid in the space or boiler chamber defined by the wall or partition 2 and the walls or plates |8 will become heated, and the heated liquid will rise through the pipe I9 and pass through the flexible hose connection 29 into the elbow 25 and then into the radiator where it will circulate downwardly and eventually discharge through the filling opening 24 of the radiator and thus back into the tank. The liquid which rises through the pipe I9 is replaced by liquid from the tank passing inwardly through the perforations 31 in either or both of the base members located below the bottom edge of the plate I8. Continued circulation of the heated cleaning fluid will result in the removal of sludge from the interior of the radiator.

After a suitable period of time, the cover 3 is removed, and then the rack or holder is lifted by means of the bail handle 2| and placed in the inclined position indicated in Figs. 5 and 6 with the sockets or bearing members 30 prothe open top portion of the tank. The bail handle 2| is then swung over and engaged with a supporting bracket 32 provided upon the exterior of the back of the tank I so as to support the rack or holder in a tilted position such that the liquid in the radiator will drain through the radiator filling opening 24 into the pan provided by the back wall l3, the front wall IS, the base members i5 and the plate members l8, from which the liquid will drain through the openings 33 in the back wall of the rack or holder and into the tank for repeated use.

Within the tank I and between one of the side walls ll of the rack or holder and the adjacent tank wall there is an upstanding overflow pipe 34 having an inlet opening 35 near its top and provided at its lower end with an elbow 36 extending outwardly through one end wall of the tank so as to carry off any cleaning fluid which might tend to boil over through the top of the tank.

When the radiator has been submerged in the cleaning liquid in the tank I, the heated liquid will expand the radiator and thereby crack off any incrustations thereon which will be carried off by the liquid discharging from the radiator.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that while a tank or casing is necessary for containing the cleaning liquid, and some provision must be made for heating the liquid contents of the tank, these parts may be varied widely and do not necessarily constitute part of the present invention, which latter is shown in Figure 3 of the drawings and comprises a rack or holder into which a radiator may be conveniently introduced and subsequently placed in a tank together with the rack which constitutes a holder for handling the radiator in introducing it and removing it from the tank. Furthermore the rack or carrier also constitutes a fountain for initiating and maintaining a circulation of the cleaning liquid into, through and out of the radiator in what is a closed circuit in that the liquid in the tank is introduced into the radiator, discharged therefrom into the body of the liquid and then recirculated through the radiator.

The chamber, at the bottom of the rack or holder defined by the parts |5, I6, I! and I8 and the bottom portion of the back plate |3 constitutes what will be termed a boiler in that the open bottom thereof is closed by the partition 2, of the tank, which partition constitutes the top of the combustion chamber 6. The liquid confined in such chamber is highly heated by the burner l0 and approaches if not actually reaches a boiling temperature in order that the heated liquid may rise through the heated tube 9. The combined area of the perforations 3! is-less than the cross sectional area of the passage in the tube l9 in order that the latter may form a path of least resistance for the passage of the heated liquid and thus cause a circulation through the pipe l9 and connected parts into the radiator and back into the boiler chamber through the openengaged with a cross-bar 3| extending across ings 31. It will thus be seen that the member illustrated in Fig. 3 is not only a rack or holder for the radiator but it also constitutes a pump or fountain for causing a circulation of the cleaning liquid through the radiator by reason of the heating of the liquid within the boiler chamber in the bottom of the rack. Provision is thus made for circulating the liquid for cleaning purposes without the employment of any extraneous means such as a power driven pump or other power driven means, and thus the device is self contained and will operate under the heating influence of a gas burner or other suitable heating means.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a tank having heating means, of a radiator-rack removably contained within the tank, said rack having means for supporting a radiator in an upright position thereon, said rack also carrying a boiler chamber at the bottom thereof in heating relation with the heating means of the tank, a conduit carried by and leading upwardly from the boiler chamber and provided with means for connection with the upper portion of a radiator supported upon the rack, the boiler chamber havin an inlet from the tank for the passage of liquid from the tank into the chamber, and the tank and rack being provided with mutually cooperating means for supporting said rack with a radiator thereon on the top of the tank and inclined to the vertical with its bottom portion at the top of the tank, the lower portion of the rack having drainage openings for draining liquid from the rack ,back into the tank.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a tank having means for heating liquid therein, of a radiator-rack removably contained within the tank, said rack having means for supportin a radiator in an upright position thereon, said rack also having a boiler chamber carried thereby at the bottom thereof in heating relation with the heating means of the tank and having an inlet from the tank, a conduit leading upwardly from the boiler chamber and provided with means for connection with a radiator supported upon the rack, and means for supporting said rack with a radiator thereon on the top of the tank and inclined to the vertical with its bottom portion at the top of the tank, said supporting means including bearing means on the back of the rack, a crossbar within the top of the tank for engagement by said bearing means, a swinging bail handle straddling the top of the rack and capable of being turned downwardly, and means on the back of the tank for engagement by the bai1 handle to prop the rack in its inclined liquid-discharging position.

3. A combined radiator support and circulating unit comprising a rack for removable insertion within the tank of a radiator cleaning apparatus comprisin an upright body, radiator supporting means carried by the body, a boiler chamber carried by and projecting horizontally at the front of the body and provided with an inlet for communication with the tank, an upright exit pipe carried by the boiler and rising therefrom and spaced in front of the body so as to receive a radiator between the body and the pipe, and conduit means carried by the top of the pipe for connection with the drain of a radiator supported upon the rack.

4. An apparatus for flushing motor vehicle radiators, the combination of a tank for holding flushing fluid and provided with a combustion chamber at the bottom thereof, a rack within the tank and comprising an upright back, a boiler compartment carried by and projecting forwardly from the bottom of the back and provided with an inlet for flushing fluid from the tank, said rack being removably supported on the combustion chamber with the boiler compartment in heat exchange relationtherewith, a conduit rising from the top of the boiler compartment and spaced in front of the said back so as to receive a radiator between the conduit and the back, a connection carried by the top portion of the conduit for connection with the inlet of a radiator located between the back and the conduit, means on the front of the back to removably support a radiator thereon, and means carried by the back to hold a radiator against said back when supported thereon.

CHARLES B. SHANAMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 557,112 Covel Mar. 31, 1896 571,017 Reeve Nov. 19, 1896 1,393,659 Baker Oct. 11, 1921 1,799,105 Lasko Mar. 31, 1931 1,865,289 Trowbridge June 28, 1932 1,983,084 Janus Dec. 4, 1934 2,141,516 Clements Dec. 27, 1938 2,170,730 Rodieck Aug. 22, 1939 

